The Good, the Bad and the Golden Gate Bridge
by ucsbdad
Summary: The Castles visit San Francisco to search for a friend of Alexis' who may be in trouble. Now COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

The Good, the Bad and the Golden Gate Bridge

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: Neither the bridge or any of the rest of this is mine, although my dad did leave a hammer in the Golden Gate Bridge. Time: Sometime after Rick and Kate's wedding. Rating: M, to be safe.

**Author's note: I wrote a post on the ABC TV Castle BB criticizing Ryan for "investing" in lottery tickets in the Good, the Bad and the Baby. I said that I might have a large orange bridge in San Francisco for Ryan if he thought lottery tickets were a good investment. Among other things, this caused dollyegirl to use the phrase "The Good, the Bad and the Golden Gate Bridge". I posted that I'd write a fic with that title. Dollyegirl asked for writer's credit. Here's the fic, not much, but fun to write, and dollyegirl, you do get writer's credit.**

"It's cold." Kate complained. "We're in California in June, for God's sake, and it's freezing."

Rick pulled out his phone. "It's a balmy 42 degrees, hardly freezing. Remember, Mark Twain once said, "The coldest winter I ever spent was one summer in San Francisco.""

Kate muttered something that might have been "pass coal".

"Actually, Mr. Castle," their chauffer said, "there's no evidence Twain ever said that. People have also attributed the saying to author Bret Harte and to Oscar Wilde, but no one's ever found any evidence they said it either."

"Well, Twain should have said it, Frank. It sounds like something he'd say."

"And I didn't pack any winter clothes." Kate grumped.

"I'll keep you warm." Rick said gallantly. "Plus I may have something to warm you up in my suitcase."

"I'd expect something to heat you up…" Kate began, then noticed the chauffer listening.

"We're turning onto Nob Hill, Mr. Castle. We'll be at the Mark Hopkins in just a minute."

"You've got someplace lined up to stay, Frank?" Castle asked. "We'll want the car ready anytime. We're here on business."

"I'll be with my cousin in Chinatown, sir. He's not more than five minutes away."

"You wife won't mind?" Kate asked, having noticed his wedding band.

"With what you're paying me? She'd kill me if I turned this job down."

Frank Turned into the entrance of the Mark Hopkins. Waiting for the Castles was a distinguished looking gentleman in a tuxedo and several bell hops. The door was whisked open before Frank could exit the car.

"Mr. and Mrs. Castle. How good to see you. I'm Martin Fredericks, the manager." Fredericks was tall, well fed, was a bit balding in front and had a plummy mid-Atlantic accent.

"Our suite is ready?" Castle asked,

"Of course, sir. The Presidential Suite awaits you." Fredericks turned to the bell hops. "See to the Castle's luggage, please. This way, please."

Rick and Kate were whisked to the 17th floor. Fredericks opened the suite's door and bowed them in. Although Kate had gotten somewhat used to Rick's wealth, the wood paneling, marble and deep carpets was a bit overwhelming.

Rick took it in stride, of course. He tipped generously and smiled at everyone.

"Will you be dining with us tonight, sir?" Fredericks asked.

"We'll try the Top of the Mark some other time. I have something special in mind for my wife tonight."

When they left, Kate turned on Rick. "Something special in mind for your wife? He leered at you when you said that!"

"How did you…"

"Mirror." Kate pointed.

Rick laughed. "You can take the girl out of the twelfth precinct, but you can't take the twelfth precinct out of the girl."

"I'm glad you remembered we're here on business. You do remember we're here on business, right?"

"Of course I do, but according to our informant, we won't get any place until after lunch tomorrow."

Kate checked her watch. "I'd better start unpacking."

"Unpacking? You have to look at the view! Come here. We can see the bay, Alcatraz, that's Oakland across the way and you can just see the Golden Gate Bridge tops from here." Castle moved Kate in front of him and pointed out the sights. "But the best thing I see is the lovely Mrs. Castle." He kissed the top of her head.

"What exactly did you have in mind for me tonight?" Kate asked suspiciously. Rick had changed since they'd first met, but his enthusiasms could still get the better of him.

Rick headed for their suitcases.

"You're actually going to unpack?" Kate said with an exaggerated look of shock on her face. "What's next? Will you be doing paperwork?"

Rick pulled two tan coats out and held them up with a flourish. "Ta da!"

"Matching coats? Are you planning a new police uniform for us?"

"These are Burberry trench coats. They're for our dinner tonight."

Kate looked skeptical. "They'll be awfully tough."

"We're going to wear them, Little Miss Philistine."

"That's Mrs. Richard Edgar Alexander Philistine to you, bub."

"Tonight, Mrs. Castle, we are dining at John's Grill." Rick looked expectantly at Kate.

Kate realized she had missed a reference somewhere. "John's Grill?"

"John's Grill!" Rick said with extra emphasis. "Where Sam Spade ate in the Maltese Falcon. We will be walking in the footsteps not only of Sam Spade, but of Dashiell Hammett. This is the holy grail for mystery writers."

"How many holy grails for mystery writers are there? Isn't having your own copycat killer the holy grail? Or was it having a homicide detective fall in love with you? I can never remember."

"There are many holy grails for mystery writers, but marrying you is the absolute top." Rick said gallantly.

Several hours later, Kate stepped out of the bedroom, dressed in a green dress that complimented her eyes and showed off her figure and her lovely legs.

Rick whistled. "I don't know what's better than a holy grail, but you're it."

"Looking good yourself. Not exactly Sam Spade, though." Rick was dressed in a conservative blue suit with a lighter blue shirt and a deep maroon tie. Over his arm were their trench coats. Kate sighed, accepted her coat from him and put it on.

When he had his on she looked him over. "At least we don't have matching fedoras."

"Frank is outside with the limo. Shall we?" He offered Kate his arm.

Frank stood by the rear door of the limo and opened it when they arrived. "Where to?"

"63 Ellis Street, and make it snappy."

"John's Grill? I should have expected it, Mr. Castle."

At the entrance to John's Grill, Rick was met by the manager. "Mr. Castle? Welcome, sir. We have your table all prepared. Come this way."

"It's right under the photo of Marie Astor?"

"Of course, Mr. Castle."

They were seated and a waiter rushed to take their order. "Do you need menus, sir?"

"My wife will need one, but I'll have the dinner salad, lamb chops, baked potato and sliced tomatoes."

Kate was handed a menu and looked at it closely. "Since San Francisco is known for its sea food, I think I'll try the prawns dijonnaise with a dinner salad."

"You looked at the menu before we came?" Kate asked.

"It's what Sam Spade ordered here." Rick explained.

"So, we're you planning to ask me to gun down your partner in a dark alley tonight? I'm curious because I am your partner. That would be…difficult." Kate teased.

"I'm not that big a fan. You can just work your womanly wiles on me to try to get me to reveal where the priceless Maltese Falcon is."

"Oh, but I already know that."

Rick raised an eyebrow? "Oh?"

"Sam Spade melted it down for the gold and sold the jewels separately to pay for Brigid O'Shaughnessy's defense lawyers. Sam was a true romantic."

Rick nodded. "You're good, you're very good." He said in his best Bogart accent.

Kate had to admit the meal was excellent and the ambience attractive and told Rick so when they got back to their room.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"Oh, Mr. Spade. Could I show you how much I enjoyed it?" Kate said in her best femme fatale voice.

Rick pulled her to him and began unzipping her dress.

The next morning, Rick woke up to find himself alone in bed. "Kate?"

"Out here. I ordered some room service coffee, some pastries and a murder board."

Rick grabbed a robe and joined her. "A murder board? That's not exactly the correct terminology, doll face."

"It'll do, Mr. Spade."

He shook his head. "Since were positive our quarry is still alive, we should call it the missing coed who ran away and may be in trouble board."

Kate sighed. "How about just calling it the board?"

Rick shrugged. "Anyone could call it that."

Kate went on, ignoring her husband. "Our vic is Amanda Blake, student at Columbia, friend of one Alexis Castle, and daughter of Tom and Jerry Blake. I can't imagine how many jokes they've heard over the years."

"Blake is a funny name?" Castle asked, deadpan.

"Moving right along," Kate said, glaring as she talked, "Amanda called Alexis and told her she'd done something stupid and possibly illegal and was running away with her boyfriend, Marc Rossi, a sometime student at various less than prestigious colleges in the New York area and something of a leech, according to Alexis. Amanda said she was in San Francisco, that Rossi had dumped her, and that she had a new friend named Buster who she met at a place called Red's Java House on the Embarcadero, apparently they ate lunch there. At which point she hung up on Alexis. Alexis is worried sick for her friend, as are Amanda's parents. As a result, Mr. and Mrs. Castle are now in San Francisco, looking for Amanda."

"I haven't been in San Francisco in years, Kate. I thought you'd like to see it."

"Of course you did. You do remember that I went to Stanford, just down the road?"


	2. Chapter 2

Lunch on the Embarcadero

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: I own no Castle but I did spend many a lunch hour at Red's. Rating: K Time: After Season Six.

Rick changed the subject. "Coffee and pastries are nice, but we need a real breakfast." Rick grabbed the house phone and began ordering breakfast from room service.

The Castle's spent a leisurely morning eating breakfast, reading the San Francisco Ledger and fooling around. Not in that exact order, you'll understand.

Lunchtime found them in front of the Mark Hopkins, getting into their limo.

"Frank, do you know where Red's Java House on the Embarcadero is?" Castle asked.

Frank laughed. "I'm a native born San Franciscan, Mr. Castle. Everybody knows Red's."

"Take us there."

Kate was disappointed at the look of Red's when the limo stopped out front. It was a small rectangular, white painted frame building with little seemingly to recommend it. It sat on Pier 40 right by the bay. However, she noticed that it seemed to have drawn a respectable lunchtime crowd. "It doesn't look like that much." She said as Frank drove away to park the limo.

"Anthony Bourdain liked it well enough."

"Anthony Bourdain, the food critic ate here and liked it?"

"Don't I always take you to the best places? According to Bourdain, we should have the double cheeseburger, fries and a beer."

Castle led her inside and onto the concrete flooring of Red's. They stood in line for their meal, and Castle asked the friendly cashier if there was a Buster who ate here regularly. She gestured behind her. "He likes to eat out on the pier."

"What's he look like?" Kate asked.

"You can't miss him. He'll be the only thing you can see that makes the Bay Bridge look small."

Once on the pier, Castle searched for Buster. "There he is. Damn! He's huge. He must be close to seven feet at least, and weigh about as much as your average NFL front line. And he's got muscles everywhere. Kate, let me handle this."

Kate shook her head and walked towards Buster.

"Kate!" Castle said, following after her. "He's huge."

"He has a white cane by his side, Rick. He's blind."

"I knew that."

Kate walked over to Buster. "Are you Buster? We'd like to talk to you."

Buster smiled hugely. "Always glad to talk to the police, officer. And to such a beautiful officer as well."

"You're not totally blind then?" Kate asked suspiciously.

Buster laughed loudly. "Totally. I've never seen a thing, except in my mind. How did I know you were the police? Easy. I've been listening to the tones of stern authority since I was a child. I recognized you at once, officer. As to you being beautiful, I can smell expensive soap on you as well as a very nice perfume. You take care of yourself, and on a policewoman's salary, too. That argues that you're beautiful." Buster gave her a sly look. "Plus it doesn't hurt to call a woman beautiful, even if she's as ugly as a mud fence."

Buster craned around to face Rick. "Your partner is a little harder to place. I smell expensive shoe polish, cologne, hair oil, silk and…"Buster inhaled deeply. "Saville Row tailoring? Your partner is a mystery man."

Kate laughed. "I'm Detective Kate Beckett, Homicide Detective, New York Police Department. My partner is really my partner in all senses of the word. He's my husband, Richard Castle."

Buster looked thoughtful. "Richard Castle? The author?"

Castle admitted he was that Richard Castle.

"I love your Derrick Storm books." Buster stopped. "Oh, is she the one you based the new series on, Nikki Heat?"

"Yes, have you read any of those?"

Buster shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid the budget cuts have gotten to the public library. They don't have any of the Nikki Heat books either in braille or on audio."

"What!" Nick cried. "That's criminal! I'll send copies of each to every library branch in the city. And autographed copies for you, of course."

"Why thank you, sir." He pulled a rumpled business card out of his pocket. You can send mine here. The card read, "Buster Thomas. Counselor, Children of the Night Mission." With an address in the Mission District.

"The Children of the Night Mission?" Kate asked, reading over Rick's shoulder.

"We try to help those who need to find their way back."

"We're here trying to find a friend of our daughter's. Her name is Amanda Blake. She's over eighteen, and she called our daughter, so she's not really a missing person, but she did mention you. Do you know where she is? Her parents are very worried."

Buster nodded. "She was at the mission for a day or so, but she left. I fear she felt… uncomfortable around poor people."

Kate nodded. Amanda wasn't a spoiled brat by any means, but she was sheltered.

"Do you know where she is?" She asked

"Not exactly. I was told who picked her up at the mission. A man named Andy Firrenzo. The man is a bookie, but he has so many layers of people between him and anything criminal, he's never been convicted of anything. He also owns some bars and clubs in the SoMa."

"SoMa?" Castle asked,

"South of Market." Buster explained. "It used to be all rundown building and homeless, but it's been redeveloped. Now it's the trendy South of Market. Nothing but yuppies." Buster shook his head sadly.

"Do you know where he lives or where his office is?" Kate asked.

"No, but I know where he'll be tonight at 7:05."

"Where?" Rick and Kate asked together.

"Right behind the Giants dugout at AT&T Park. He has season tickets and never misses a home game."

"You wouldn't know…?" Kate began.

"Section 122, Row A, seats…Um, from about 110 to 120. Close enough."

Rick and Kate finished their lunch and headed back to the hotel. Once there, Rick got on the phone to the nearest bookstore that carried braille as well as audio books. Having determined the number of branches, he dispatched a dozen copies of the Nikki Heat books in both braille and audio to each branch. An hour later there was a knock on the door and a bellhop brought in a stack of braille books and CDs.

Rick sat at the table autographing each one to Buster. "Kate, come over here and autograph these, too."

"Me? I'm not…"

"Yes you are. And he'll probably appreciate the gorgeous cop's autograph more than some writer's."

Kate sighed and signed.

Rick took the braille book away from her. "Kate Beckett Castle?" he read. "That's all?"

"Should I have signed as Nikki Heat?"

"No, but you have to put some pizzazz into it when you sign a book for a fan. You want all of his friends to read this and get all warm and fuzzy about you whenever they think of you."

"Suppose I go back and sign his chest?"

"Kate! I have not signed any part of a woman's anatomy since we got together. You know the only chest I'm interested in is yours, and all the other gorgeous parts of you." He handed the book back. "You can do better than this."

Kate glared her best glare, but Rick just smiled. She thought and thought. Finally, "How about, To Buster, hoping that the voice of stern authority sounds more like Nikki Heat in the future."

"I knew you could do it. That's perfect. Now think of something for each of the other books. You can't sign the same thing for Buster, after all."

"I can't?" Kate struggled, but finally had a different message with her signature for Buster.

Rick had by then grabbed his phone. "Marco! How it is? Look, I'm in San Francisco and I need some Giants tickets for tonight." There was a pause. "Sure, I know you're in New York, but I'll pay top dollar?"

Several hours of phone calls later, Rick threw the phone down in disgust. "I can't believe that none of my go to guys can come up with two lousy tickets to a baseball game. It's not like I want to sit on the bench at the Super Bowl or something."

"They couldn't get you tickets then, either." Kate teased.

"It's a little more than two hours before the game. We'll have to rely on my boundless charm."

"That usually means I should wear something that shows off my legs." Kate answered.

"Follow me, Legs."

Frank dropped them at a corner near the ballpark. "There." Rick said. "Just the man I need." He gestured to a skinny African-Anerican guy in a Giants jersey, holding a handful of tickets.

"Afternoon." Rick said, "I need two tickets two rows behind the Giants dugout. About seats 110 to 120."

The man quickly scanned his handful of tickets. "Sorry, man. Best I can do is behind home plate. Great seats. Reasonable prices."

"Can you ask your friends for some help?"

"Why should I do that?"

Rick took out a sheaf of bills. He extracted a hundred dollar bill and put it in the man's pocket. Because you get a hundred just for trying. And two hundred if I get my tickets."

The man smiled and got on his cell phone. After several frantic calls, a shifty looking Asian sidled up to them. "Tickets in 122, Row B, seats 115 and 116?" He held up two tickets for Rick to see.

Rick nodded. "Exactly."

The man smiled. "Four hundred. A piece." He held out his hand. Rick promptly put $800 in his hand.

"Thanks." He said, taking the tickets and handing the first scalper two more hundreds.

"Enjoy the game." Both scalpers said.

"Should have asked for more." Castle heard the Asian mutter as they walked away.

"Now we go to the Giants store. It's on the outside of the ballpark."

"Why?" Kate asked.

"When you went after me in that high stakes poker game in Chinatown, you dressed as a Russian hooker. Why?"

"To fit in…Oh! Our suspect is a Giants fan, so we should look like Giants fans."

"You are so good, Kate."

The Castle's entered the Giants Dugout store and began to look around. Kate pulled her hair back into a tight pony tail and looked for baseball hats. She had quite a selection to look over, but decided on the simplest hat, black with an orange SF.

Castle was also looking at hats when he was poked in the ribs. He turned to find his wife with an armload of clothes.

"Don't worry about which jersey to buy. I found one for you."

"Whose?"

"Tim Lincecum, number 55, right handed starting pitcher and two time Cy Young Award winner. He's perfect for you."

Castle smiled. "You got two jerseys?"

"Of course. One for you, and one for me. Plus two orange Giants tee shirts, also yours and mine."

"Whose jersey did you get?"

"Madison Bumgarner, number 40, a left handed starting pitcher. Won two World Series games, 2010 and 2012. He's the first Giant since 1905 to not allow a run in his first two World Series starts."

"I forgot, you're the family baseball fan." Rick said with a smile.

"Actually, one of the sales girls told me that."

At the counter while his credit card was being processed, Rick noticed the name on the back of his jersey. "Wait a minute. Lincecum's name isn't on this. It says, "The Freak."

"That's Timmy's nickname, sir." The sales clerk.

"But…"

"You know what they say in baseball, Rick." Kate said with a smile.

"What?"

"If the jersey fits, wear it."

"What does yours say, if I may ask, Little Miss Baseball?"

Kate held her jersey up. On the back, were the words, Mad Bum."

He nodded. "Madison Bumgarner, Mad Bum, I get it." He leaned over Kate to whisper in her ear, surreptitiously squeezing her bottom. "But your bum is not mad, it's a perfect bum." 

"I know." She whispered back, pinching his bottom. "Now I have to go to the ladies room to change into my tee shirt. You should change now, too."

They walked up the stairs from the store and into the ballpark.

"Here's the men's." Rick said. "And there's the ladies. I'll meet you in front of the ladies."

Rick smiled when Kate walked out of the ladies, now attired as a Giants fan. "Truth in advertising, I see."

Kate stared at him, puzzled. "Truth in advertising?" She repeated.

"Across your chest, it says Giants. And they are to me."

Kate blushed and slapped him on the chest, a bit harder than usual. "Be careful, writer boy."

Once in their seats, they picked out Firrenzo at once. He made himself the center of attention, and everyone deferred to him.

"We have a half an hour before the game starts. He'll probably be in better mood now than if we interrupt him while the game's in progress." Kate whispered.

"Let's do it."

Kate and Rick slid into two empty seats just behind Firrenzo. Kate leaned over and flashed her badge, hopefully too fast for Firrenzo to tell she was seriously out of her jurisdiction. "Detective Kate Beckett. Mind if I talk to you?"

"About what?" He replied cautiously.

"Amanda Blake."

"Never heard of her." He shot back. "So get lost, officer. I'm busy."

"That's odd. I have a witness who says otherwise."

"Screw your witness. Get lost before I call security and have you tossed."

"Amanda Blake? I know her?"

Kate and Rick swiveled around to see who was talking. He was muscle straight out of central casting. Broken nose, oily black hair, a skin tight black tee shirt showing his bulging biceps and large rings on his fingers, making useful brass knuckles at need.

Kate and Rick scooted over. "You know her? Mister…?"

"Jimmy Seton, glad to meet ya. What about Mandy?"

"Her parents are worried. She took off from home. She told a friend she might have done something illegal. We're curious."

Seton shrugged. "Mandy's a sweet kid. I sure hope nothing bad happened to her. But I haven't seen her for a couple of days."

"Really?" Kate said sarcastically. "You don't think that maybe you wanted to fool around with her, she didn't want to play and you beat her to a pulp?"

"Are you implying I wanted to screw Mandy, detective?"

For some reason that got a laugh from Firrenzo's pals.

"Why not?"

More laughs.

"I like to talk to sophisticated young ladies like Mandy. We talk about clothes, perfume, films, lots of things. But my sexual preferences lean more towards your partner there."

"My partner?"

"I'm gay, detective. Ask anyone. Hell, ask everyone. And I have no idea where Mandy is, but I'll ask around. What station do you work out of? I'll call you if I hear anything."

Castle leaned in. "We're staying at the Mark Hopkins, the Presidential Suite. Mr. and Mrs. Richard Castle."

"You're not SFPD?" Seton asked.

"NYPD. I never said I was local."

"No, you didn't."

As Kate moved back to her seat with Rick, a hand reached out to grab hers.

"Excuse me, detective, but I couldn't help but over hear your conversation with Jimmy. This is about Amanda Blake?"

The speaker, who hadn't let go of Kate's hand, had the looks of a fashion model. Tall, slender, long legs, slim hips, small, firm breasts, a dazzling smile, too much make up and a long mane of coal black hair.

"My name is Sahara. I met Amanda a few times. She was running out of money and needed work. She was too short for modelling, but I put her in touch with a friend of mine who supplies some of the old line Italian restaurants in North Beach. They're always looking for presentable waitresses."

"The friend's name?" Kate asked, trying to extract her hand from Sahara's. The model was stronger than she looked.

"Nguyen Diem Xinh. He works out of his home in the Sunset, on Funston. I don't know the address, but he's in the book."

"Nguyen Diem Xinh, works in the Sunset, on Funston. In the book." Castle said, writing it down. "A Vietnamese supplies the old line Italian restaurants in North Beach?"

Sahara laughed. "Everyone knows the best North Beach Italian restaurants are owned by Vietnamese families and the kitchen staffs are all Mexican. Welcome to San Francisco."

Kate nodded. Sahara was still holding her hand. "Thank you and…"

Sahara interrupted. "Jimmy may be into men, detective, but I'm open to…anything, or anyone. You two look just scrumptious. If you'd be interested…"

Rick took Sahara's other hand. "Thank you, but we're basically newlyweds. Thanks anyway."

Sahara smiled and released Kate's hand. "The good ones are always taken, aren't they?"

Rick and Kate made their way back to their seats. Rick shook his head. "Gay muscle? What would New York's Five Families say? And a bisexual model? Welcome to San Francisco, indeed."

Kate slid her hand along Rick's thigh. "You weren't fantasizing about a three way with Sahara and me, were you?' She said in a low, throaty voice.

"Of course not. I'd never do that? Why would you even ask?"

"Because Sahara's a man." Kate whispered.

"What? How do you know?"

"I was in Vice, remember. I learned a lot."

"Me too." Castle said.

The Castles got up the next morning, checked for Mr. Xinh on line and had Frank drive them to the Sunset. Mr. Xinh had already left, leaving his grandmother behind, who spoke only Vietnamese, and his youngest daughter, who spoke only toddler. Frank, who spoke some Cantonese was called in to assist. After half an hour, as near as they could tell, Daddy, (Mr. Xinh), was in his truck giving icky food, (Not candy.), to adults. That wasn't a big help.

"Mr. Castle." Frank said. "Maybe we could just head for North Beach and start hitting the Italian restaurants. They'll probably know who Xinh's customers are."

"Why didn't I think if that?" Castle asked rhetorically.

"Do you really want an answer?" Kate said sweetly.

Frank's plan actually worked and lunchtime found them at the Albona Ristorante Istriana. Mr. Xinh, once found, had directed them to a restaurant where Amanda Blake had been sent for a job as a waitress.

"Shall we all have lunch?" Castle suggested as Frank parked the car in a miraculously appearing parking space. (A parking space in San Francisco? This _is_ fiction.)

Castle had the braised veal shank, Kate had the chicken breast, and Frank had the seafood linguini.

"Could I please speak to the manager?" Rick asked when the meal was served.

"Is there something wrong, sir?" The waitress asked.

Kate quickly flashed her badge. "It's a police matter."

The waitress's eyes lit up. "Are you undercover? Our prices usually keep the police away. Wow! Are you after terrorists? The mob? What?'

Rick smiled. "I'm Richard Castle." He said politely.

"Who?"

"Richard Castle, the writer? The Derrick Storm series? Nikki Heat?"

The waitress looked at Rick with a blank look on her face.

Kate could hardly keep from laughing. "Could you please ask the manager to come to our table?"

The manager shot out of his office and headed towards their table with an insincere smile on his face. "May I help you officer?"

"Detective Kate Beckett." She did not show her badge again, but showed a picture of Amanda. "Do you know this young lady? Amanda Blake?"

"Why? What's the problem?"

"Just answer the question." Rick replied in what he hoped was an appropriate world weary cop tone of voice.

"She was a waitress here for about an hour. I haven't seen her since the night before last."

"She worked here for an hour?" Kate asked, with a disbelieving tone.

"We had a group of college students in, quite a large group. Male students. Ms. Blake is a very attractive young lady. They were a bit…"The manager did not go on.

"They groped her?" Kate suggested. "Perhaps more than groped her?" Kate's voice was becoming harder. "Perhaps they took her someplace…private?"

"No, no! Nothing like that!" The manager babbled.

"It would help if you just told us everything." Frank said softly.

"One of the young men, grabbed her boob. She slapped his hand. Not hard, in fact the young man laughed. But another young man slid his hand under her skirt. Way up her skirt."

"What did she do?" Kate asked.

"Nothing. I went over and told her that I'd have a waiter take over for her. But then another young man, grabbed her, pulled her onto his lap and kissed her. He put his hand under her top. I think he pushed her bra up and…fondled her. I pulled her out of his lap and told her to go to the kitchen."

"And what did you do to the young men?" Kate asked coldly.

"I had the waiter take their orders." He replied softly.

"How very gallant of you." Kate said sarcastically.

"Did she quit?" Rick asked.

"Actually, she came out of the kitchen with a tray loaded with garbage. She threw it all over the young men and then left. I haven't seen her since. I did send Janet," he waved vaguely to their waitress, "to try to catch her, but she wouldn't come back."

"Thank you." Kate said. "Could you send Janet over?"

"One more thing." Rick said, in his best Columbo voice, "Do you know where these college students were from?"

"Stanford, I believe."

Rick managed to suppress his smile until the manager left and Janet got to their table.


	3. Chapter 3

The Summer of Love

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: Yes, I own no Castle. Rating: K Time: The future.

**Author's Note: Yes, I most certainly did let this one fall between the cracks between other fics and RL. Sorry. **

"Janet "Kate said calmly, "you caught up with Amanda?"

"I did. I told her that this sort of thing rarely happens and she should come back. This is a really good waitress gig. We get a lot of big tippers."

"How many sexual assaults?" Kate asked.

"I go weeks without even having my butt patted. Really. That was really unusual."

"Do you have any idea where Amanda would have gone? Apparently she was running out of money."

Janet nodded. "I have this sort of friend who lives over in the Haight, she calls herself Moonstone. She's about twenty and wants to relive the Summer of Love, 1967, you know. We get a lot of kids who come to San Francisco thinking it's going to be just like it was then. Retro hippies if you will. Anyway, Moonstone is happy to take in anyone who's having a hard time. Nice kid, but a little odd."

"Can you give us her address?"

Janet wrote the address down and handed it to Kate.

"I think a generous tip would be in order." Castle said.

"Not saying anything about any Stanford students, past or present is also in order." Kate added.

"Why Detective Beckett, I would never say anything about that fine institution of higher learning, the Stanford Junior University." Rick said smugly.

Kate glared at him. "It's the Leland J. Stanford, Junior, University. It was named after Leland Stanford, Junior."

"A wonderful place, I'm sure. " Before Kate could reply, Rick changed the subject. "When this is over do you want to go down the Peninsula and visit the Farm?"

"The Farm? You've been reading up on me and my almost alma mater?"

"Love you, love your almost alma mater."

Kate nodded. "I'd love to go. I'd love to see my old classrooms, my old dorm room, and where I lived in Palo Alto. I'd love to go down University Avenue and see how it's changed, or not since I left."

"Good! It's a date then."

Rick turned to their chauffer. "Off to 1967 and the Summer of Love."

Rick got out of the car at the address Janet had given them and looked around. "This is the Hashbury. This is where rock and roll grew up, this is where the sixties started. This was ground zero for all the changes of the sixties."

Kate shook her head. "Most people say the Sixties began when JFK was shot. And the South and the Civil Rights movement was more important than a bunch of unshorn drug abusing hippies."

"Kate, you wound me. Wound me to the core. If you cut me do I not bleed?"

"Don't tempt me, Rick. Let's see if we can find Moonstone or Amanda."

They knocked on the door of a shabby two story building, but got no answer. Rick leaned out to look in the front window from the porch. "I don't see anyone inside."

"We'll come back tonight. They may be out, or too stoned to come to the door."

They were driven back to the hotel and relaxed for the rest of the day. Rick took Kate to the Top of the Mark for dinner and a spectacular view of San Francisco. Then it was back to business.

"Frank, there's no place to park. Can you just circle the block?" Rick asked when they got back to the house in the Haight.

"There are lights on inside." Kate said as they got out of the car. "I hope that means Moonstone is here."

Rick knocked on the door. Then knocked again. They could hear someone moving around inside and someone yelled something unintelligible. Then, finally, the door opened. Two young men stood there with blank smiles on their faces. "You got the pizza?" Said one.

To Rick, the two looked too much like Pi for his liking, but he smiled anyway. "No, but we would like to talk to Moonstone. Is she here?"

The two looked blankly at Rick. "Moonstone?" One finally managed to say.

"You mean the chick?" Asked the other. He waved vaguely towards the back of the house. "Uh, she's…Uh, I guess…"

Kate walked past the two and into the house. "Thank you for inviting us in. You're such a help."

The two stared at her.

She shook her head. "Rick, I'll look upstairs. You check the back of the house.

Kate quickly checked the upstairs. There was no one there. When she got back downstairs, the two young men were still standing where she had left them, but were now smiling happily. Rick was standing by the hallway. "Nothing?" Kate asked.

"No, I found something. "

"So?" She said impatiently.

"There's a girl back there."

"Duh! That's what we're looking for, Rick. Why didn't you talk to her?"

"She's a naked girl. A friendly naked girl."

"How friendly?"

"She tried to take my pants off."

Kate smirked. "A naked, friendly girl with good taste in men."

"I didn't want you to think…"He began.

"Follow me." She said, laughing.

The girl was lying on her bed, still naked. "Hi, you brought a friend back with you? Cool."

Kate smiled as best she could as the girl tried to get off the bed and got to Rick, who was hiding behind Kate. "Are you Moonstone?"

"Moonstone?" The girl laughed and fell back on the bed. "Do I look like Moonstone?"

"Do you know where Moonstone is, or Amanda? Amanda Blake?"

"Who's Amanda?" The girl bad given up trying to get off the bed, but was trying to put her hands under Kate's sweater. Kate showed her Amanda's picture.

"Oh, the weird chick. She's not here. Left."

"Do you know where she went?"

"No idea." She lay back on the bed.

"Where's Moonstone?"

"Maybe at the Teahouse, or at work."

"The teahouse?"

"The Sublime Tranquility Buddhist Tea House."

"Does she work there?'

The girl laughed. "No, silly. Of course not. She works next door."

"I googled for the Teahouse, Kate. I found it." Rick was trying not to look at anything but the back of Kate. And he did love to look at the back of Kate. And her front as well.

They walked to the front of the house to find a pizza delivery man waiting patiently while the two men tried to find the money to pay him. "What did they order?" Castle asked.

"Two Super Large B-52s. That's with everything on it." Was the reply.

"How much?"

"$43.29. And I don't really expect a tip from these clowns."

"You're wrong." Castle took out his wallet and pulled out a hundred. "Here you go. The rest is your tip." Castle turned to the two young men. "You don't mind if we take two slices, do you?"

"Huh?"

"It's been charming." Castle said, pulling two slices out of the box.

"You're going to eat those?" Kate asked as they left the house.

"Of course not. One is for you." He handed the other to her.

"We did have dinner, you remember?"

"I just get hungry when I'm on a case with the finest and most gorgeous detective in all of the world. I also get aroused."

"I've noticed."

"Eat. You'll need your strength for tonight."

Kate took a bite. "No bad, although I really prefer New York pizza."

The Teahouse was closed and both businesses on either side were also closed. There was a Laundromat that was open twenty-four hours a day down the block. Kate asked the attendant about Moonstone and Amanda, but she knew nothing.

"Back to the hotel?" Rick asked.

"We may as well. We could wander the streets all night asking about the two and never get anywhere."

Once back in the limo, Rick pulled Kate close. "I could wander all over you all night and get…"

"Nowhere, if you're planning on letting Frank watch." Kate said, playfully pushing him away.

"Didn't see a thing up here." Their driver said.

"Liar." Rick and Kate said together.

Once back at the Mark Hopkins and curled up in bed, Rick kissed Kate softly. "We'll have to come back to San Francisco again. We can spend some time down at Stanford, do all the tourist things in Ess Eff, you know, Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz, go to the fine restaurants, and see the sights. We could go up to wine country and get smashed."

"I'm a police officer, sir, I do not get smashed."

"No, with the right wine, you get all bubbly and hot."

"Sounds better." She returned his kiss.

"We could go to Monterey, Big Sur, maybe go down the Coast, see Hearst Castle, Moro Beach, then maybe…"

"Are you planning a little vacation or an around the world cruise? I have to work, you know."

"How about I just go around the world with you?" He leered.


	4. Chapter 4

Far Out, Man

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: Someone else owns Castle. Ask them. Rating: K Time: The future.

Rick and Kate arrived at the Teahouse and walked in. Kate flashed her badge, being careful not to let the man behind the counter see it so clearly that he wouldn't know it was a New York badge and not from San Francisco.

Behind the counter was young man with the shaved head and saffron robes of a Buddhist bonze, or monk. However, his sweaty, acned and pale face did not bring Buddhism to mind.

"Detective Beckett. Have you seen this woman?" She showed the picture of Amanda, "or someone who calls herself Moonstone?"

"What?"

Kate rolled her eyes. "It was a simple question. Have you seen either of them?"

"Your cop vibe is disturbing. I can see waves of cop coming off of you. It's starting to effect the customers. You could damage our _feng shui_."

"In that case we'll just stay here until your clarified butter congeals and your herbal tea crumbles away." Rick said with a cold smile. "I'm feeling especially cop-like today." He closed his eyes and grunted. "Oh, I feel a wave of copness coming on like I've never felt before. I think tranquility and peacefulness haven't got a chance."

"They were in here for breakfast about two hours ago. They got here before we opened, but I let them in. Moonstone works next door sometimes. I don't know about the other chick."

"Where next door?" Kate asked.

"Ye Olde Hippie Headde Shoppe."

"Thanks." Castle said. "Um, could I have a Darjeeling with yak milk to go?"

"You want a pat of _ghee_ with that?"

"Of course! Do you think I'm some sort of barbarian?" He turned to Kate. "You want one?" She shook her head and rolled her eyes.

Ye Olde Hippie Headde Shoppe lived up to its name. It was crammed with tie dyed clothing, posters, macramé, lava lamps and all manner of sixties paraphernalia. The shop was presided over by the hippie version of Kris Kringle, a jolly fat man with rosy cheeks, a white beard and white hair tied in a ponytail. In lieu of red clothing, he wore bell bottoms, a tie dyed tee shirt and a leather vest. Around his neck was a squash blossom necklace.

"Yes, officers?" He asked sourly.

"Detective Beckett and Castle." Kate didn't bother with her badge. "I'm looking for a woman who calls herself Moonstone and this woman." Kate showed him Amanda's photo.

"Moonstone works here, but not today. I've seen the other chick with her once or twice, but I have no idea where she is."

"Do you know where Moonstone is?"

He shrugged. "Bo might know. He works here, too. He'll be back in ten or fifteen minutes. If you could wait outside, I don't want my customers upset."

"Why would we upset them?" Castle asked. Before Kris Kringle could reply, he held up a tie dyed Grateful Dead tee shirt. "What do you think, Beckett? Matching shirts?"

"Castle?" She glared, then smiled.

"Matching shirts it is." He wondered around the store. "A head band." He put it on. "What do you think?"

Kate rolled her eyes.

"Check. Matching headbands. Oh, wow! Is this an original Grateful Dead poster?"

"It's not for sale." Kris growled.

"It says it is. See, $500. I'll take it."

"No! I won't sell it to someone who doesn't appreciate it."

"What do you mean? I'll appreciate it."

"Oh, yeah? Tell me then, who was the original lead singer of the Jefferson Airplane?"

Rick smiled. "Signe Anderson. Give me something hard."

"Bill Graham's first show starred what acts?"

Rick shook his head. "I said hard. The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and the Charlatans."

Kris looked impressed. "Who came out of the Charlatans?"

"Duh! Dan Hicks of Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks."

"Okay, Country Joe and the Fish. Who was the Fish?"

"Barry Melton. The act was originally a duo, McDonald and Melton and they were known by their nicknames."

"Okay, get this one and I'll sell it. When and where did Janis debut with Big Brother and the Holding Company?"

"Easy peasy. June 10, 1966 at the Avalon."

Kris's shoulders slumped. "It's yours, man. $500."

By the time Bo got back, Castle had filled a shopping bag with his purchases.

"Bo, "Kate asked, "do you know where Moonstone or her friend Amanda are?"

Bo stared at Kate. "Um, you're…?"

"The police." Kate said. "You want to be helpful don't you, or would you rather go downtown?"

"I don't know about the other chick, but Moonstone's at the Bluegrass Festival at Golden Gate Park."

"Free concert in Golden Gate Park? Psychedelic, man." Castle said. Kate dragged him out by his ear.

"Ow! What's that for?"

"For wanting to buy a bong. I'm a cop. How would I explain that to our friends?"

"I was going to use it as a planter in the kitchen."

"No."

Kate waved for their limo driver and he stopped for them.

She turned to Rick. "How did you become such an expert on sixties trivia?"

He laughed. "I had a subplot once where Derreck Storm became a roadie for the Grateful Dead. I didn't use it though."

Golden Gate Park was full of women who looked like they might call themselves Moonstone. As a local band was doing a bluesy rendition of _Wildwood Flower_, Kate and Rick began working the crowd. But as people arrived and left and moved around, they discovered they were seeing the same people again and missing others entirely.

"Maybe I could do like the PA announcements from Woodstock? You know, if you're having a bad acid trip, go to the blue medical tent and if your name is Moonstone, please see the gorgeous lady cop."

"Like they'd let you on stage."

"I can be very persuasive. I got you to marry me, after all."

"It took you five years. We can't wait that long."

"So, we…?" 

"Keep asking. Back to work, Castle."

As she was asking about the thousandth woman who looked like she might be a Moonstone if she was Moonstone, Kate felt a presence next to her.

"I'm sure I'd know if such an attractive detective was working for us." He pulled back his coat to show his badge. An SFPD badge. "Detective Inspector Ray Davies. And you are?"

"Kate Beckett, Detective, NYPD." Kate held out her shield and her ID card.

Davies examined the badge and the card. "Normally we get a heads up if another department want to work in our jurisdiction."

Kate shook her head. "I'm not here officially. The daughter of a friend of our daughter took off and came to San Francisco. She's an adult and there's no evidence of foul play, so they can't file a missing persons report. They're very worried, so we agreed to come look for her. Unofficially."

"We?"

"Me and her." Rick said, coming up behind Kate. "I'm her husband, Rick Castle. She still uses her married name for work." Rick held out his hand and Davies shook it,

"Rick Castle? Richard Castle, the author?" Rick nodded happily and Davies turned to Kate. "That means you're Nikki Heat."

Kate shook her head decisively. "No, I'm Kate Beckett. Nikki Heat is a fictional character. I'm nothing like her."

"She's right about that." Rick added. "She's ten times what Nikki Heat is. I just wish I was a good enough writer to do Kate justice."

"Well, why didn't you come to see us right away? We'd have been happy to cooperate, even in an unofficial investigation."

Kate shrugged. "We were in Los Angeles a couple of years ago with a real case. The local cops were, um, not as cooperative as I could have wished."

Davies shook his head. "LA cops? No wonder you got the wrong idea. All of them think there's a Joseph Wambaugh in them screaming to get out. I had to work with an LA cop once and let me tell you…" Davies stopped. "Well, I shouldn't tell tales out of school. But tell me, Detective, what can the SFPD do for you today?"

Kate quickly explained, showing Davies the picture of Amanda and describing Moonstone.

Davies nodded. "I know a Moonstone. About twenty and a full blown sixties hippie. I think I know where she is."

Davies took off with Kate and Rick close behind. Davies slowed and then stopped. "Ah! There she is. We'll just walk up slowly and not scare her off."

Moonstone was singing along with a bluegrass band's rendition of Foggy Mountain Breakdown, which was odd as there aren't any lyrics to that song. But that wasn't stopping Moonstone.

"Moonstone?" Davies said quietly. "How's things?"

"Ray." Moonstone said happily. She put her arms around him and gave him a hug. "I'm fine. How are you? Found inner peace and tranquility yet?"

"More so every day, Moon. Say have you seen your friend Amanda around?"

"Mandy? She is one screwed up chick. Really screwed up. She on a real downer. Sad."

"Do you know where she is?" Ray asked softly.

Moonstone nodded. "She asked how to get to the bridge."

"The bridge?" Kate asked. "Which bridge?"

"The Golden Gate Bridge." Moonstone replied quietly. "That chick was really bummed out."

"The Golden Gate Bridge and someone who's unhappy? I don't like that at all." Rick said.

"Come on," Davies said, "we'll take my car. She might be doing something stupid."

"She already has." Rick muttered under his breath.


	5. Chapter 5

The Golden Gate Bridge

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: I own neither Castle, nor the Bridge. Rating: K Time: The future.

Rick and Kate got into Davies's car and headed for the bridge. Davies spoke on his radio.

"This is Sierra Sixteen, I've got a possible jumper headed for the Golden Gate. Anyone in the vicinity, please contact me and give me your twenty."

Davies got a response, but the car was further from the Bridge than they were. Davies called again. "Dispatch, contact the Bridge personnel and advise them of a possible jumper. She is a white female, age about twenty…" he looked at Kate who pulled out the photo of Amanda. Davies completed the description.

The unmarked police car pulled onto the bridge and Davies pulled into the slow lane, to the distress of drivers behind him.

"Shouldn't you put on your lights and siren?" Castle asked.

Davies shook his head. "The surest way to get a possible jumper to actually jump, is to try to physically stop them." Davies smiled and waved as a driver passed him and gave him the one finger salute.

"There. On the bay side. Is that her?" Castle asked. "Young, slim, and…" The person turned around. "And has a beard. Sorry."

Halfway over the bridge, Kate spotted someone. "Look. That girl is just standing there, looking down at the water. Is that her?"

All three looked, but she wasn't showing her face. Davies stopped the car and turned on his lights. "You two get out and see if it's her. Hopefully she won't see the lights and panic."

Kate and Rick jumped out and ran towards the girl. "Amanda?" Kate called. "Amanda Blake?"

The girl turned around. It was Amanda. "Who are you?"

"I'm Kate Castle. This is my husband, Rick. Alexis, your friend, is our daughter. She asked us to look for you." Kate walked towards the young woman, who pulled herself onto the bridge railing and sat there, perilously close to falling.

"Please leave me alone."

"Amanda, your parents are very worried about you. They just want you back." Rick said softly.

"I can't. Not after what we did." Amanda was starting to cry.

"Whatever you did, it doesn't stop your parents from loving you and wanting you safe." Kate said.

"What did you do?" Rick asked, wondering about the story.

"It was Marc, my ex-boyfriend. We took Grandpa Blake's stamp collection. It was just sitting in my parents' closet since he died. We didn't think it was worth anything. But we took and Marc took it to someone he knew. He paid us thirty five thousand dollars for it. I'm sure that means it was really worth a lot more. We came to San Francisco, but Marc left after just a day with the money. I can't go back home. I can't."

Kate took a step forward, but Amanda started to lean back. Kate stopped. "I won't come any closer unless you want me to."

Rick was busy on his phone. "Alexis?" he whispered. "We've found Amanda, but she's on the Golden Gate Bridge, threatening to jump. Can you talk to her?"

Rick held the phone out towards Amanda.

"Mandy? It's me, Alexis. Please, listen to my parents. They just want to help you. Go with them. We can talk about this when you get back to New York."

"Alexis, I stole from my parents. They'll hate me."

"No, Amanda. I've talked to your parents. They love you. They just want you safe at home. Okay? Go with my parents. Everything will be fine. I promise."

"You're sure, Alexis?"

"Absolutely. Get down off of there. Please."

Amanda got down off the railing and walked over to Kate and collapsed, sobbing into Kate's arms.

The next day, Castle called Alexis. "Hi, pumpkin. How's Amanda? Did she get back okay?"

"Yes. Her parents and I met her at the airport. Thanks for putting her on the plane. She's fine and happy to be back. Her parents decided not to report the theft of the stamp collection. They were afraid that the ex-boyfriend would have blamed Amanda, and the whole thing would have ended up as a huge mess"

"Too bad." Kate muttered.

"Yeah, it is." Alexis agreed.

"Don't worry ladies. I predict that this Marc won't change his ways and will eventually get what's coming to him."

"Yeah, but how many people will he hurt before that?" Kate asked.

"Where are you guys? And when are you coming home."

"We're at a place called the Counter on University Avenue in Palo Alto. We're reliving Kate's college days. I may buy us matching Stanford tee shirts to commemorate the event."

"The Counter?" Alexis asked. "What kind of a place is that?"

"Gourmet burgers." Castle replied. "I got the one pound burger with the herb goat cheese, red onion, dill pickles, tomatoes and fresh jalapenos. I also got the smoked bacon, which is optional and the chili…"

"Suffice it to say that your dad is happy with gourmet cheeseburger." Kate said with a laugh.

"And I'm happy to be with my lovely wife." Castle added. "And the garlic fries."

"I guess I should be happy I came before the fries." Kate teased.

"Kate and I have been to Stanford. We saw her old dorm room and some of her old classrooms and stopped by the student union and got a cup of coffee."

"So you've both satisfied your innermost cravings?" Alexis joked.

"No, that comes tonight." Castle deadpanned.

"Castle!"

Alexis laughed. "I should probably hang up before this gets too gross. When will you be back?"

"We're going to drive by Kate's old apartment and then head for SF. We'll stay another night at the Mark Hopkins and be back tomorrow. We'll get a cab back to the loft. See you, Pumpkin."

"Goodbye, Alexis."

"Bye, you two."

Kate leaned over and rested her head on Rick's shoulder. "I was happy here at Stanford, until the winter break in 1999 when my life fell apart. After that, I never wanted to come back, because I knew that it would just remind me of how happy I'd been and that I could never be that happy again."

"What happened?" Rick asked, gently stroking her hair.

"I found this man and for some reason he spent over five years turning me from a damaged mess into a fully functioning human." She reached up and kissed his cheek.

"I helped you. You did a lot of the heavy lifting yourself."

"I couldn't have done it without you. But now I can come back to Stanford and know that as happy as I was here, I'm happier now. I have husband that I love and who loves me, something I never believed would happen to me. And while I'll never have my mother again, I do have Martha who does her best to mother me. And does a good job. I even have a combination daughter, friend, and little sister in Alexis. And one day I'll be a mother myself with the best father imaginable for our children. Thank you for everything."

"Always."

"What now?"

"Why we finish our lunch, go see your old apartment and head back to the city. We might want to get busy on that little Castle baby."

**Author's note: I do recommend the Counter on University Avenue in Palo Alto if you're into burgers and are in the Bay Area. There are other Counters around as well as this one.**


End file.
